Airtel shareholders bag Shs100 billion in dividends

According to Godfrey Bakibinga, Airtel Uganda’s interim company secretary, shareholders on record as of April 8, 2025 (with an effective date of April 2, 2025) can expect their payout by April 28, 2025.

For the entire year 2024, Airtel Uganda’s total dividend stands at Shs7.88 per share, reflecting an impressive 9.97 percent yield and based on the current stock price of Shs79.00 (as of February 20, 2025), the latest dividend translates to a 3.16 percent yield.

The company’s stock price has not moved two days after it issued this dividend notice.

Since its November 2023 listing, Airtel Uganda has been generous with six dividend pay-outs, distributing a total of Shs477 billion or Shs11.93 per share—with this latest one topping the charts.

Market analysts and brokerage firms point to Airtel Uganda’s stronger financial performance as the key driver behind its record-breaking dividend.

The telecom giant saw profit after tax climb from Shs297 billion in 2023 to Shs317 billion in 2024, fuelled by an increase in revenue from Shs1.78 trillion to Shs1.98 trillion over the same period.

Airtel did not just earn more—it optimised expenses to keep profits healthy. Key cost reductions came from network operating expenses, access charges, licence fees, spectrum usage, sales and marketing, and depreciation, keeping total expenses at Shs1.4 trillion in 2024, up from Shs1.19 trillion in 2023.

However, network costs and depreciation played a major role in pushing expenses higher.
The company also tightened its capital expenditure, cutting spending from Shs41.4 billion to Shs29.1 billion.

While it scaled back on intangible assets (such as software), it slightly increased spending on property, plant, equipment, and right-of-use assets to strengthen its infrastructure.

Eventually, its retained earnings jumped from Shs86.7 billion in 2023 to Shs102.4 billion in 2024, giving the company more internal capital.

Liabilities rise
However, liabilities also surged from Shs2.2 trillion to Shs2.6 trillion, driven by higher lease liabilities, deferred tax obligations, and financial derivatives.
The good news? Total assets also grew from Shs2.2 trillion to Shs2.4 trillion, largely due to increased investment in physical infrastructure and its borrowings reduced sharply during the period from Shs300 billion in 2023 to just Shs35 billion in 2024.

Unanswered questions
Where did the money go? Despite this financial performance, Airtel Uganda has yet to release detailed financials explaining some key shifts: increased interest on existing loans, higher investments in plant and equipment and whether the aggressive dividend pay-outs are sustainable, given the need to manage liabilities and reinvest in the business.

The concern is whether Airtel can balance rewarding shareholders while staying competitive in Uganda’s telecom oligopoly, where infrastructure investment is crucial.

MTN factor
Airtel’s strong profit numbers are now rivaling MTN Uganda’s, even though MTN still has its mobile money division listed.
When MTN separates its mobile money business later this year (as expected), Airtel could gain an edge in post-tax profits, giving it more room to invest and improve cash flows.

From bearish to bullish
Investors are taking note. After a long bearish stretch since its 2023 listing, Airtel’s stock reversed course on January 2, 2025, rising from Shs58 to Shs79 by Thursday—a promising climb toward its initial listing price of Shs100 per share.
According to David Bateme, the team lead, new business at Crested Capital, the market trend is clear: “Airtel’s dividend is improving because its financials are improving. The stock’s ups and downs mirror what MTN experienced after its listing. Investors should remember that dividend yield moves in relation to share price.”